1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rail assembly for a drawer, more particularly to a rail assembly with an engaging protrusion that is elastically deformable.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 to 3 illustrates a conventional rail assembly 1 for mounting a drawer 3 in a cabinet 2. The rail assembly 1 includes a first rail 11 that has a stopping protrusion 13 protruding therefrom, and a second rail 12 that is mounted slidably on the first rail 11 and that is formed with an engaging protrusion 14 which is blocked by the stopping protrusion 13 when the second rail 12 is moved to a front position relative to the first rail 11 where the drawer 3 is fully opened so as to arrest further frontward movement of the second rail 12 relative to the first rail 11. The engaging protrusion 14 includes a lever 14′ that has a fixed end 140 fixed to the second rail 12, and a distal free end 141 opposite to the fixed end 140, and that defines a shoulder 142 between the fixed end 140 and the distal free end 141. The shoulder 142 engages the stopping protrusion 13 when the second rail 12 is moved to the front position, and is disengaged from the stopping protrusion 13 when the distal free end 141 of the lever 14 is forced upwardly, thereby permitting further frontward movement of the second rail 12.
The conventional rail assembly 1 is disadvantageous in that forcing of the lever 14 for the purpose of detaching the drawer 3 from the cabinet 2 requires the user to use one of his or her hands to lift the lever 14 (see FIG. 3) while the other hand holds and pulls the drawer 3 out of the cabinet 2, which is relatively inconvenient to conduct, particularly when the drawer 3 is heavy.